La Colmena - Domestic Workers

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The goal of the Domestic Workers’ Program (La Colmena – the Beehive) is to organize housecleaners, nannies, and caregivers, providing trainings and support to build the collective power of domestic workers in Houston. We raise awareness about domestic workers’ rights in order to create a Houston in which all work is respected and all workers have a right to a sustainable job.

Report: Domestic Workers Suffer Abuses Illegal in Most of Labor Force

Report Finds Many Domestic Workers Receive Poverty-Level Wages and are Subject to High Levels of Verbal, Psychological, and Physical Abuse

Fe y Justicia Worker Center welcomes the release of Home Economics. The study underscores why our initiatives for the rights of domestic worker are so critical. “The value of domestic work has been too long ignored and underappreciated. The work of caring for the sick and elderly, cleaning homes and caring for children makes all other work possible,” said Laura Perez-Boston, Executive Director of Fe y Justicia Worker Center. “This report not only exposes the injustices on the job, but also lifts this often invisible workforce into public’s awareness.”

“The challenges facing domestic workers are a window into some of our most pressing social issues – how will families cope with the rising costs of senior care, how will they find high-quality and affordable childcare, and what role will immigrant workers play in helping families meet these growing needs?” said Linda Burnham, Research Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and a co-author of the report. “This study is also a call to action. We must forge a path forward with legislative reforms to move us toward a more caring economy.”

The study was funded by the Ford Foundation and the Open Society Foundations. Between June 2011 and February 2012, 2,086 domestic workers were surveyed in 14 metropolitan areas—Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. To read the full report and learn more about the methodology, visit www.domesticworkers.org.